Sunny is a shepherd rescued from the Toronto Animal Services. When his owners decided to adopt him the staff asked, “Are you sure you want this dog – he’s crazy”. Pre-adoption, Sunny already had a reputation for being challenging, reactive, and difficult. I met Sunny’s owners at training school when I worked at It’s a Dog’s Life. They were relieved when they discovered that they lived in my dog walking service area and I would be willing to have him join our group. I’m not the biggest fan of Shepherds- they are large powerful and intense dogs, but Sunny’s single floppy ear made him appear less intimidating than most, and we bonded instantly. Like a lot of Shepherds, Sunny has incredible prey drive and is easily aroused. He’s had incidences with nipping both joggers and children that have left his owner in tears. When dogs in our group play too rough, he starts to bully them. He’s worse on leash. When I began working with Sunny I always used treats. I worked on teaching him to ‘Look at Me’ when he saw something on his long list of triggers. We had some success but not to the point of real reliability. His first day back from 6-wk holiday in the winter, I was walking him along a ravine and found myself behind a pack of 6 off-leash dogs. I realized that unless we passed them, Sunny was NEVER going to be ok with walking behind them. I was running out of treats fast and getting frustrated. Then I decided that I needed a new strategy. It was an aha moment when I realized that my reinforcement was simply not good enough.

The next time we found ourselves in a similar scenario I brought out a tug toy. I pretended that it was the most amazing thing and that Sunny couldn’t have it. For good behaviour, I rewarded him with a tug session. Sometimes I let him walk with it, and every once in a while I grab at it and steal it. When the reinforcement was right, it was beautiful how all the other training fell into place. Sunny loves carrying his toy at the park and it keeps him out of trouble. His favourite past-time is to press the toy into my butt enticing me to tug. It’s a bit intrusive but at least I know he’s always close by and staying out of trouble. All I have to do is provide Sunny with novel toys and play LOTS OF TUG.

I couldn’t imagine dog walking and not having training experience. How could I possibly bring out the best in the dogs I walk if I didn’t know how to modify their behaviour? Training and walking going hand-in-hand. Finding the right reinforcement made Sunny a safer and happier canine camper. He’s gone from being one of the most challenging dogs to being a a real K9 wingman.

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He backed up as far away from the bone as possible, wouldn’t eat it and looked like he had was completely frustrated -scratching at his bed, whimpering, and doing everything to avoid the bone.
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If the dog is not reinforced for “doing nothing” when there is no cue, then they cannot learn to discriminate when the cue is present, and when it is not.”• Notice when he offers a wave that’s not high enough, she uses the target to get the better version and then clicks.

We are asking all dog owners to avoid feeding their dog chicken jerky treats after several cases have recently been reported where dogs are developing serious side effects after consuming these treats.
The Ontario Veterinary Medical Association has received multiple reports at present of otherwise healthy dogs who are developing kidney disease after the consumption of chicken jerky treats.

Julie is one of a select group of trainers in Ontario to have earned the Certified Pet Dog Trainer designation through the Certification Council for Pet Dog Trainers.
This designation helps people select a professional who has the knowledge and expertise to make your investment in dog training safe, effective, and enjoyable.

Mississauga, ON – On February 22, 2010, Samantha Brown, a Mississauga dog trainer was convicted under the Ontario SPCA Act for causing an animal to be in distress.
Positive reinforcement techniques are the most humane option; they encourage the development of skills while keeping the animal’s overall well-being in mind.